U.S. policy communities are increasingly identifying climate change, environmental deterioration, water management, and food security as key concerns for national security and global governance. The interplay between these trends was visible during the upheavals across the Middle East, as food riots and water disputes illuminated the region’s extreme food insecurity. In the five years before the uprising in Syria, for example, the country experienced one of the worst droughts on record—decimating wheat production and wiping out livestock. There is little question that the effects of climate change will cause more extreme weather events and crop insecurities in the decades to come, and it is reasonable to expect that the secondary and tertiary effects will be magnified with time.

Panelists:Nancy Stetson, U.S. Special Representative for Global Food Security, U.S. Department of StateRichard Leach, President and CEO, World Food Program USASharon Burke, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy, U.S. Department of Defense; Senior Advisor, New America

Moderated by:Max Hoffman, Associate Director, National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress